Rand Paul won’t be a ‘birther for Republicans’ over Ted Cruz presidential run

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) says he won’t be a “birther for Republicans” so he’s “staying out” of the debate over whether Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is eligible to run for president.

During an interview on Tuesday, CNN’s Erin Burnett asked Paul if Cruz should be allowed to run for president since he was born in Canada to a mother who was a U.S. citizen.

“You won’t find me questioning his eligibility,” Paul insisted. “I decided a long time ago I wasn’t going to be a birther for Democrats. I’m not a birther for Republicans.”

“I’m just staying out of that one.”

Burnett also noted that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) had recently told Fox News that she was taking the side of “Team Rand” in a feud between the Kentucky Republican and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R).

Palin said that Christie wanted to “be seen as perhaps a little bit avant-garde and going rogue on things,” while Paul “gets the whole notion of ‘don’t tread on me’ government.”

“I love an endorsement by Sarah Palin, what’s not to love?” Paul explained to CNN on Tuesday. “Team Rand — whatever that means — can include a lot of people.”

About the Author

David Edwards has served as an editor at Raw Story since 2006. His work can also be found at Crooks & Liars, and he's also been published at The BRAD BLOG. He came to Raw Story after working as a network manager for the state of North Carolina and as as engineer developing enterprise resource planning software. Follow him on Twitter at @DavidEdwards.